NAB President Message

Reconnect

By Richard Colarossi, National Alumni Board President

I drove under the Adventure Unlimited sign and up the dusty road.  The “Welcome Home” sign greeted me as it always did 15 years ago – the last time I stepped foot on the Ranches. It was Adventure Unlimited’s 2005 50^th Reunion and it reminded me of arrival day years ago, full of hugs and an open-hearted newness. The 50^th reunion reconnected me with fond memories of being a camper and working on staff. Since that time, A/U is no longer a memory, but a real “NOW” experience.

If you are reading this edition of Zipline, you have some connection with Adventure Unlimited or DiscoveryBound, and that makes you a member of the A/U-DB Alumni Association. Over the past several years as a family camper, parent of campers, husband of a bunkhouse mom, local DiscoveryBound supporter and now as President of the Alumni Association, I have met wonderful alumni who have reconnected and given back to Adventure Unlimited and DiscoveryBound. They serve as bunkhouse parents at summer youth camp, mentors to teens in the DB National Leadership Council (NLC) program and by sending their children to Camp and attending Adult/Family Camp.

What is the one thing you remember about YOUR experience – trail rides, the rodeo, peaking a fourteener or rock climbing? Is it a DB Regional event or your NLC class trip? It might be drifting down the Arkansas River, doing a wet exit from a kayak on Round-Up Lake, or enjoying “Alone With Your Thoughts.” Most likely it is the friendships made and the changes in your life after returning home to share your experiences with family and friends. Whatever you remember most about your experience with A/U and DB, you will treasure forever.

Recently a Sunday school teacher and former A/U camper expressed her love for A/U and her ongoing desire to get back to the Ranches.  She is looking for ways to be connected. Currently one of the most influential ways alumni can support A/U-DB is to be part of the alumni “giving percentage.” Thank you to the approximately 4% of A/U DB alumni who have recognized the organization with a gift of $10.00 or more over the last ten years!

Because this organization relies on institutions, organizations, and private foundations as well as friends to maintain financial support, it is important for a greater number of the alumni to be well represented. The National Alumni Board (NAB) wants to challenge all alumni to participate in programs, encourage youth to attend camp and/or a DB event, host a Camp Show, and especially at this time – help us increase the percentage of alumni who give annually. Your participation in programs and as an alumni donor gives us the cache needed to approach major funders with solid statistics that reflect the alumni love and support of Adventure Unlimited & DiscoveryBound. Our numbers are strong, and we need to step up and be counted in a way that is appropriate individually. To this end we would like to include you in the NAB’s efforts to bring awareness to this aspect of supporting A/U-DB.

We welcome everyone to visit the website, stop by the A/U Ranches, attend and observe a DB regional event or reconnect with a camper, staff, or friend. There are also a variety of ways to stay in touch – including A/U Facebook and DB Facebook, A/U Ranches Twitter & DB Twitter, as well as Linked in – to name a few. You never know who you will “re-meet”!

If you have any questions please contact me by phone (949) 456-0980 or email.

Richard Colarossi
President, National Alumni Board (NAB)

Make your annual Online Donation
To share your Defining Moment!
Update your Contact Information
See the A/U DB Strategic Plan
Contact Us